Hoag Hospital sculpture grows with organ donors' gifts

Ricardo Ramirez takes a photo of a leaf on the "Tree of Life&#8221; sculpture at Hoag Hospital. Families of organ donors were presented with a certificate and a replica of a leaf that bears the donor's name at a recent memorial event.CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Becoming a donor

When you visit the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew or get a new driver's license, you can register to become an organ donor. Your driver's license then will be marked with a pink donor sticker.

However, that alone is not legally enough to declare your intentions. You will also be given a donor card that you should carry with your license. You can specify which types of organs and tissue you want to donate, and if you want your body to be used for medical research, transplants, or both. In addition to your signature on the donor card, you'll need the signature of a witness. You must be at least 18 years old to sign.

There are no fees involved.

Source: DMV.org

Becoming a donor

When you visit the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew or get a new driver's license, you can register to become an organ donor. Your driver's license then will be marked with a pink donor sticker.

However, that alone is not legally enough to declare your intentions. You will also be given a donor card that you should carry with your license. You can specify which types of organs and tissue you want to donate, and if you want your body to be used for medical research, transplants, or both. In addition to your signature on the donor card, you'll need the signature of a witness. You must be at least 18 years old to sign.

When Tova Cohen, an artist and Newport Beach resident of 12 years, lost her 3-year-old daughter due to a heart defect, she decided that she wanted to give back to the hospital in Israel that had worked to keep her daughter alive, so she donated her daughter’s body to the hospital for research.

“I decided that if they could study her problem and help other children then it would be worth it,” Cohen said.

So when Cohen’s neighbor, Dr. Rosemary O’Meeghan, approached her about doing an art piece to honor people who have died and donated their organs at Hoag Hospital, Cohen said she knew she had to do it.

“It’s meant to be,” Cohen said. “I have to do that project.”

Cohen, who usually works in stone, created a metal sculpture of bamboo, called “The Tree of Life,” that was installed by the emergency department entrance in 2011. On each leaf is a name and date of death of an organ donor. There are 32 names on the tree. The hospital recently added 11 more leaves to honor organ donors from 2011 to 2012, and celebrated them and their family members at a ceremony on Thursday night. Relatives were presented with a rose, a replica leaf and a recognition certificate.

“Thank you to donor families for allowing us to honor your loved ones on the tree of life,” O’Meeghan said to dozens of family members at the event.

One of the newly added leaves is for April Negrete’s husband, who died in 2012 due to complications from a brain injury. She said she didn’t give a second thought to donating his organs when officials at Hoag Hospital asked.

“It wasn’t really a big or difficult decision for us,” Negrete said. “If those body parts could help someone else, then we wanted to do it.

According to Cohen, the message behind the project is to give life to others.

“And a tree, actually, in different countries, is a symbol of life,” Cohen said.

O’Meeghan, who has worked in the critical care unit at Hoag Hospital since 2005, said that the tree was meant to create awareness about the need for organ donors in Orange County and across the country. There are more than 117,000 people on the national waiting list for organs and one person gets added to the list about every 11 minutes, according to O’Meeghan. She also said that 19 people on the waiting list die each day.

According to OneLegacy, a nonprofit group that supports organ donation, there are close to 1,000 people in Orange County who are on the national waiting list for organs.

“We see patients who are very critically ill who need transplants,” O’Meeghan said. “We need to support the process.”

Cohen and O’Meeghan said they both hope that more and more leaves will be added to the tree over the years.

“It’s a strong message,” Cohen said. “It represents what it stands for. It gives life to other people.”

Ricardo Ramirez takes a photo of a leaf on the "Tree of Life” sculpture at Hoag Hospital. Families of organ donors were presented with a certificate and a replica of a leaf that bears the donor's name at a recent memorial event. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
April Negrete holds a red rose given to her at a recent memorial event co-hosted by Hoag Hospital and OneLegacy, an organ and tissue recovery organization. Her husband Steven Kilgo was a kidney donor. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Organ recipient Stephanie McMackin speaks at the "Tree of Life" memorial event at Hoag Hospital. Families of organ donors were presented with a certificate and a replica of a leaf that bears the donor's name at a recent memorial event. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Artist Tova Cohen, left, and Dr. Rosemary O'Meeghan stand near the "Tree of Life" sculpture at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. O'Meeghan has worked for organ-donation awareness at Hoag. Cohen created the sculpture that bears the names of organ donors. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Leaves on the "Tree of Life" sculpture at Hoag Hospital honor organ donors. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Artist Tova Cohen, left, and Dr. Rosemary O'Meeghan stand near the "Tree of Life" sculpture at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Leaves on the "Tree of Life" sculpture at Hoag Hospital honor organ donors. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The "Tree of Life" sculpture at Hoag Hospital was created to honor organ donors. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Sabott family – Neil, left, Bonnie and Kim – at the "Tree of Life” memorial event co-hosted by Hoag Hospital and OneLegacy, an organ and tissue recovery organization. Bonnie and Kim's son, Daniel, was an organ donor. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Peyton Matthews, 13, takes a photo of a leaf on the "Tree of Life” sculpture at Hoag Hospital. Each leaf represents a person who died and donated his or her organs. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dr. Rosemary O'Meeghan at Hoag Hospital speaks during the "Tree of Life" memorial event. Families of organ donors were recognized at the event. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dr. Rosemary O'Meeghan, Hoag Hospital President and CEO Robert Braithwaite and OneLegacy CEO Tom Mone attend the "Tree of Life" memorial event at Hoag Hospital. CHRISTINE COTTER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.